‘My heart is so tired’: Indian zi char chef Devid Retanasamy to leave Singapore after 24 years
Hedy Khoo
The Straits Times
Nov 6, 2026
For the past year, zi char chef Devid Retanasamy has lain awake at night, worried about his uncertain career prospects and how to support his wife and three children.
After 24 years of working in Singapore, the Malaysian chef, who turned 43 on Oct 28, has decided to call it quits.
XH Delicious Seafood, where he works as a chef, will cease operations on Nov 25, just seven months after it started operating at Chinatown Coffee Shop in Temple Street on April 20.
Retanasamy says the business has lost more than $10,000 since opening earlier in 2026.
Daily takings have sometimes fallen below $500, short of the $800 needed to cover operating costs.
Business was particularly dismal in September and October, which saw a sharp drop in tourists patronising the 50-seat coffee shop.
Previously, tourists accounted for 60% to 70% of his customers, with the remainder comprising regulars who followed him from his previous eateries. “Sometimes, there are no customers until 7pm,” says the Mandarin-speaking chef. “Even the birds don’t come here,” he adds with wry humour.
But it is not just the lack of customers that has driven him to throw in the towel.
“My heart is so tired after so many years. I have been scammed before and I believed in the wrong people,” says Retanasamy, who has had a series of unsuccessful business partnerships and disagreements with various employers.
In February, The Straits Times featured his struggles and fresh start as culinary director of Xiao Hei Tze Char, a franchise which adopted his nickname as moniker. He says he does not mind being called Xiao Hei, a reference to his dark complexion, as he regards it as a term of affection that helps customers remember him.
The franchise opened its first outlet in Hougang on Feb 1, followed by another in Bedok on March 1.
However, Retanasamy says he left the group in early April, following disagreements with management over his responsibilities and remuneration.
Apart from cooking, he says he had to recruit staff, source suppliers, plan menus and prepare sauces for all the outlets.
After leaving, he joined the Temple Street operation, where his face is featured prominently on the XH Delicious Seafood signboard.
The menu features his signatures of Prawn Paste Chicken ($12), Curry Fish Head ($30) made with fresh red snapper head, BBQ Stingray ($20) slathered in his housemade sambal, and Coffee Pork Ribs ($15).
Retanasamy, who grew up in Perak and came to Singapore in 2002 at age 19, says he is leaving because he has grown weary of being an employee.
“Working for others, I have to follow their style. I want freedom to cook the way I like.”
Starting over in Ipoh
He plans to reopen XH Delicious Seafood in a two-storey shophouse he owns in Ipoh, where he previously operated a zi char eatery in 2016.
He estimates that he will need RM20,000 (S$6,300) to set up his new business, which can seat about 60 diners. He intends to begin operations with just two employees.
To finance his fresh start and support his family in the meantime, he says he is prepared to sell his gold necklace, bracelet and rings, which he estimates are worth RM70,000 to RM80,000. “I won’t feel sad selling my gold because as long as I work, I can buy them back in the future,” he says.
His wife, aged 43, and their three children – two daughters aged 17 and 13, and a son, 10 – live in Johor Bahru. He says he needs to provide RM8,000 monthly for the family, as tuition fees for his children add up to RM2,000, while continuing to service mortgages on his Ipoh shophouse and family home in JB.
His wife, a Chinese national who is a Malaysian permanent resident and works as a cashier at a temple, is worried about his latest decision and would prefer he continues working in Singapore.
Retanasamy says he recently received an offer to join another zi char venture in River Valley, but turned it down.
He adds that he had contemplated returning to Ipoh since 2025, but new opportunities kept him in Singapore.
Determined to leave
Although tempted to stay, he says he has finally made up his mind to leave. He announced his decision on Facebook on Nov 5 to commit to it publicly.
Back in Ipoh, he hopes the reputation he has built in Singapore will help attract new and old customers. He remains in touch with regulars from his former eatery there, some of whom have expressed excitement at his return.
While his wife and children will remain in Johor, the move will make it easier for him to visit them, particularly when his elder daughter begins university studies in Selangor.
However, he says he will miss his regular customers in Singapore, some of whom have become friends and already promised to visit him in Ipoh.
Despite the setbacks, he has no regrets about his years spent in Singapore.
“I have thought long and hard about the people I have met and the hurdles I have faced. I see them as life lessons that have helped me improve and become a stronger person,” he says.
“I used to feel hurt when people made nasty remarks about me. Now, I just shrug them off.”
He recalls an incident in which a customer cancelled her order after learning that he was Indian. He chose not to respond to her remarks.
“Money can be earned, but self-respect – you cannot lose it,” he says.
XH Delicious Seafood
Address: 39 Temple Street
Open: 11.15am to 10.15pm daily until Nov 25, except Nov 11, when it will be closed
Tel: 8206 2101
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